GIVE AND RECEIVE WITHOUT CHARGING - 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 9:36-10:8 (Gospel), Ex 19:2-6 (First Reading) and Rm 5:6-11 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

GIVE AND RECEIVE WITHOUT CHARGING

“You received without charge, give without charge.” (Mt 10:8)

The Gospel for this  11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 9:36-10:8 .

Verse 36 says: And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.^o Footnote  ^o says “Familiar biblical metaphor: Nb 27:17; 1 K 22:17; Jdt 11:19; Ezk 34:5.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.      Mt 14:13 - First miracle of the loaves. When Jesus received this news he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot^c. Footnote   ^c says “On shore the crowd hurried to the place the boat was making for.”

2.       Jr 50:6 - Lost sheep, such were my people; their shepherds led them astray, left them wandering in the mountains; from mountain to hill they went, forgetful of their fold.

3.       Zc 10:2 - Because the teraphim utter futile words and te diviners have lying visions^b and publish empty dreams and voice misleading nonsense, naturally the people stray like sheep; they wander because they have no shepherd.^c  Footnote ^b  says  “The teraphim here are instruments of divination , cf. Ezk 21:26. For the practice of divination after the Exile, cf. Ml 3:5, compare Lv 19:31; 20:6.”; and Footnote ^c  says “‘voice’ cor.; ‘console with’ Hebr. ‘stray’ corr.; ‘go their way’ Hebr. ‘wander’ corr.; ‘reply’ Hebr.; ’are distressed’ Greek.”

4.       Mk 6:34 - So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.

Verse 37 says: Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the laborers are few.

Parallel text is Lk 10:2 that says: He said to them,^c  ‘The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest. Footnote ^c says “The collection used by Mt and Lk included a missionary discourse parallel with that of Mk 6:8-11. Lk has made use of both these sources, but separately (9:3-5; 10:2-12), whereas Mt has joined them together 10:7-16. Cf. Lk 11:39+; 17:22+.”   

Verse 38 says: so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest’.

 

Parallel text is Jn 4:35-38 that says: Have you not got a saying: Four months and then the harvest? Well, I tell you: Look around you, look at the fields; already they are white, ready for harvest!^k Already (v. 35) the reaper is being paid its wages, already he is bringing in the grain for eternal life, and thus sower and reaper rejoice together (v. 36). For here the proverbs holds good: one sows, another reaps (v. 37); I sent you to reap a harvest you have not worked for. Others worked for it; and you have come into the rewards of your trouble (v. 38).’^l Footnote  ^k  says “A harvest of souls: the Samaritans who are coming to Jesus, v. 30, are its first-fruits.; and Footnote ^l says “The reapers are the apostles, the sowers those who have  labored before them, especially Jesus.”

Cha. 10, verse 1 says: He summoned his twelve disciples,^aand gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness. Footnote  ^a  says “Matthew supposes that the reader already knows about the choice of the Twelve; Mark and Luke mentions it expressly and distinguish the choice from the mission.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Mk 3:14…and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach…

2.       Mk 6:7 - Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over unclean spirits…

3.       Lk 9:1 - He summoned the Twelve^a and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. Footnote ^a- says “Add ‘apostles’”.

4.       Mt 8:29+ - They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time^j? Footnote   ^j  says “Until the day of Judgment, the demons are to some extent free to work their mischief on earth, Rv. 9:5; they do this normally by taking possession of men, 12:43-45+. Such possession brings disease with it because disease- consequence of sin, 9:2+- is another manifestation of Satan’s dominion, Lk. 13:16. It is for this reason that the gospel exorcism though sometimes described simply as expulsions, cf. 15:21-28p; Mk. 1:23-28p; Lk. 8:2, often take the form of cures, 9:32-34; 12:22-24p; 17:14-18p; Lk. 13:10-17. By his power over the devils Jesus destroys Satan’s empire, 12:28p; Lk. 10:17-19; cf. Lk.4:6; Jn. 12:31+, and inaugurates the messianic era of which, according to the prophets, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the distinctive mark, Is. 11:2+; Jl. 3:1f. Man may refuse to recognize it, 12:24-32, but the demons see it all too well, cf. this passage and Mk. 1:24p; 3:11p; Lk. 4:41;Ac. 16:17; 19:15. This power to exorcise is given by Jesus to his disciples simultaneously with the power of miraculous healing, 10:18p, with which it is connected, 8:3+; 4:24; 8:16p; Lk. 13:32.”

 Verses 2, 3 and 4  say: These are the names of the twelve apostles:^b first Peter and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Batholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot,^c the one who was to betray him. Footnote  ^b says “Apostle means ‘one sent’”; and Footnote ^c says “‘Thaddeus’ (var. ‘Lebbaeus’) corresponds to ‘Judas (son) of James’ in the list of Lk 6:16 and Ac 1:13. ‘Iscariot’ is commonly taken to mean ‘man of Kerioth’ (a town in Judah, JOs 15:25).”

Parallel texts for verse 2 are:

1.       Mk 3:16-19 - And he appointed the Twelve: Simon to whom   he gave the name Peter (v. 16), James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’ (v. 17); then Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Aphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot (v. 18) and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him (v. 19).^c Footnote ^c  says “Here Mk omits the discourse of Mt 5-7 and Lk 6:20-49, evidently assuming that his readers would be interested more in what Christ was and did than in the minutiae of his teaching with regard to the Jewish Law.”

2.       Lk 6:13-16 - When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’ (v. 13): Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip,   Batholomew (v. 14),  Matthew Thomas, James son of Alpheus,  Simon called the Zealot (v. 15), Judas son of James,^b and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor (v. 16). Footnote ^b  says “Lit. ‘Judas of James’, which could mean ‘bother of James’, cf. Mt 10:4+.”

3.       Ac 1:13…and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James.^o Footnote   ^o says “‘Son’ (of Aplhaeus, of James) is not in Greek. The apostle Jude is not the Jude ‘brother’ of Jesus, cf. Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3, and brother of James (Jude 1). Nor is it likely that the apostle James son of Alphaeus was James brother of the Lord, Ac 12:17; 15:13, etc.”

Verse 5 and 6 say: These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not turn your steps to pagan territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.^d Footnote  ^d says “Hebraism common in the Bible: the people of Israel. As heirs to the Choice and Promise, the Jews are to be the first to receive the offer of the Messiah’s saving work; but cf. Ac 8:5; 13:5+.”

Parallel texts for verse 5 are:

1.       Mt  15:24 - He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel’.

2.       Lk 9:53 - But the people would not receive him because he was making for Jerusalem.^l Footnote ^l  says “The hatred of the Samaritans for the Jews, Jn 4:9+, would show itself particularly towards those on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; hence it was usual to bypass this territory, cf Mt 10:5. Only Lk and Jn (4:1-42) mention Christ’s presence in this schismatic province, cfLk 17:11,16. The early Church was not slow to follow his  example, Ac 8:5-25.”

3.       Jn 4:9  - The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans^e.  Footnote   ^e  says  “Some authorities omit this parenthesis. The Jews hated the Samaritans, Si 50:25-26; Jn 8:48; Lk 9:52-55, cf. Mt 10:5, Lk 10:33; 17:16, and attributed their origin to the importation of five pagan groups, 2 K 17:24-41, who retained some of their loyalty to their old gods, these are symbolized by the ‘five husbands of v. 18.”

Verse 7 says: And as you go, proclaim the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.

Parallel texts for verse 7 are:

1.       Mt 3:2  - ‘Repent’, ^b for the kingdom of heaven ^c is close at hand!... Footnote ^b says “Metanoia, rendered ‘repentance’, inspires a change of heart; ‘conversion’ in the technical sense.”; and Footnote ^c  says “Instead of ‘Kingdom of God’, cf. 4:17+. The phrase is proper to Mt. and reflects the Jewish scruple which substitutes metaphor for the divine name.”

2.       Mt 4:17 - From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven^d is close at hand.” Footnote ^d  says “The sovereignty of God over the chosen people, and trough them over the world, is at the heart of Christ’s preaching as it was the theocratic ideal of the OT. It implies a kingdom of ‘saints’ where God will be truly King because they will acknowledge his royal rights by knowing and loving him. This sovereignty, jeopardized by rebellious sin, is to be reasserted by an act of supreme intervention on the part of God and his Messiah (Dn 2:28+). This is the intervention which Jesus, following John the Baptist (3:2), declares imminent (4:17-23; Lk 4:43). It is to take the form not, as was commonly expected, of a successful nationalist rising (Mk 11:10; LK 19:11; Ac 1:6) but of a purely spiritual movement (Mk 1:34+; Jn 18:36). The redemptive work of Jesus as ‘Son of Man’ (Mt 8:20+) and as ‘servant’ (Mt 8:17+; 20:28+; 26:28+) sets man free from Satan’s rule which opposes God’s (4:8; 8:29+; 12:25-26). Before it achieves its final eschatological realization when the elect will be with the Father in the joy of the heavenly banquet (8:11+; 13:43; 26:29) the kingdom makes an impressive entrance (13:31-33). Its modest beginning is mysterious (13:11) and arouses opposition (13:24-30), it has come unnoticed (12:28; Lk 17:20-21); the development of the kingdom on earth is slow (Mk 4:26-29) and is effected by the Church (Mt 16:18+). By the judgment of God that falls on Jerusalem it is established with power as the kingdom of Christ (Mt 16:28; Lk 21:31) and is preached throughout the world by apostolic missionaries (Mt 10:7; 24:14; Ac 1:3+). When the times comes for the final judgment (13:37-43, 47-50; 25:31-46), the return of Christ in glory (16:27; 25:31) will be the final act that establishes the kingdom which Christ will present to the Father(1 Co 15:24). Until that time the kingdom appears as a free gift of God (20:1-16; 22:9-10; Lk 12:32), accepted by the humble (Mt 5:3; 18:3-4; 19:14,23-24) and the generous (13:44-46; 19:12; Mk 9:47; Lk 9:62; 18:29f), refused by the proud and selfish (21:31-32,43; 22:2-8; 23:13). There is no entering it without the wedding garment  which is the new life (22:11-13; Jn 3:3,5) and not all men are admitted (Mt 8:12; 1 Co 6:9-10; Ga 5:21). One has to be awake so as to be ready when it comes unexpectedly (Mt 25:1-13). On Matthew’s treatment as a guiding idea of his arrangement , see Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels.”

Verse 8 says: Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge

Parallel texts are:

1.       Lk 10:9,11 - Cure those in it who are sick and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you”.

2.       Is 55:1 - Oh, come to the water all who are thirsty; though you have not money, come! Buy corn without money, and eat,^a and, at no cost, wine and milk. Footnote  ^a says “Hebr. adds ‘come and buy’ absent from Greek and DSIa.”

3.       Ac 8:20 - Peter answered, ‘May your silver be lost forever, and you with it, for thinking that money could buy what God has given for nothing!^g Footnote   ^g  says “The Holy Spirit is supremely the gift of God, cf. 2:38; 10:45; 11:17; Lk 11:9,13; the idea recurs in the Veni Creator.”

The First Reading is taken from Ex 19:2-6.

Verse 2 says: From Rephidim they set out again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness of Sinai,^d there in the wilderness they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched their camp. Footnote  ^d says “Tradition locates Mt. Sinai in the southern  region of the Sinai peninsula at Jebel Musa (7,500 ft.) the northern rock face of which dominates a barren plain surrounded by mountain: the locality admirably satisfies the data of the text. It was at Sinai, called Horeb or Mount of God in the ‘Elohistic’ tradition (Dt.: Horeb), that Moses received his vocation, Ex. 3:1-4, 17 and had his second meeting with Jethro, Ex. 18. At Sinai the Law was given, Ex. 19-20; Nb 1-10, (cf. Lv 27-34) and the Covenant concluded, Ex. 24:3-8. At Sinai God placed himself at the head of his people for the journey to the Promised Land, Dt. 33:2 and Ps 68:8,17 (cf. Jg 5:4f; Hab 3:3f); it was to Sinai that Elijah the prophet returned as to the pure spring of divine revelation, 1 K 19, cf Si 48:7. Sinai stands for the Old Covenant that was eventually superseded, Ga 4:24f.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ex 18:5 - So Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, came with his son-in-law’s wife and children to the wilderness where his camp was, at the mountain of God.^d Footnote ^d  says “Horeb, 3:1.”

2.       Nb 33:15 - They left Rephidim and encamped in the wilderness of Sinai.

3.       Dt 33:2  He said: ‘Yahweh came from Sinai.^b For them, after Seir, he rose on the horizon, after Mount Paran he shone forth. From them he came, after the mustering^c at Kadesh, from his zenith as far as the foothills. Footnote ^b says “A verse difficult to interpret and archaic in vocabulary. Yahweh rises, as a star rises, and leads the tribes from Sinai through the desert to the foothills of Mount Pisgah, cf. 3:17 and 4:49.”;  and Footnote ^c  says “i.e. the gathered clans.”

4.       2 K 17:34 - They still follow their old rites even now. They did not worship Yahweh^o and did not conform to his statutes or ritual, or the law or commandments, which Yahweh had laid down for the sons of Jacob to whom he gave the name Israel. Footnote ^o  says “Faithless Israel are meant here, as in vv. 14f, not (as in the preceding verse) pagans. ‘his statutes’ conj.; ‘their statutes’ Hebr.”

5.       Si 24:23 - I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and I covered the earth like mist.^b Footnote ^b  says “Wisdom is identified with the spirit of God hovering over the waters, Gn 1:2.”

6.       Si 45:3 - At the word of Moses he made the miracles stop, he raised him high in the respect of kings; he gave him commandments for his people, and showed him something of his glory.

7.       Jr 31:32 - but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, so I had to show them who was master. It is Yahweh who speaks.

8.       Ezk 16:18 - You have taken your embroidered clothes and put to them on the images, and the oil and incense which are rightly mine you have offered to them.

   

Verse 3 says: Moses then went up to God, and Yahweh called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Say this to the House of Jacob, declare this to the sons of Israel,

Parallel text for verse 3 is Ex 24:15 that says: And Moses went up the mountain. The cloud covered the mountain.

Verse 4 says: “You yourselves have seen what I did with the Egyptians, how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Dt 4:34 - Has any god ventured to go to take to himself one nation from the midst of another, by ordeals, signs  wonders, war, with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors - all this that Yahweh your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?

2.       Dt 29:1-2 - Moses called the whole of Israel together and said to them: ‘You have seen all that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to his servants and to his whole land (v. 1), the great ordeals your eyes have witnessed, the signs and those great wonders (v. 2).

3.       Dt 32:11 - Like eagle watching its nest, hovering over its young, he spreads out its wing to hold him he supports him on his pinions.

4.       Is 46:3 - ‘Listen to me, House of Jacob, all you who remain of the House of Israel, you have been carried since birth, whom I carried since the time you were born.

Verse 5 says: From this you know that now, if you obey my voice and hold fast to my covenant, you of all the nations shall be my very own for all the earth is mine. ^e Footnote ^e  says  “Hence God can choose whom he will.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Dt 10:14-15  - ‘To Yahweh your God belong indeed heaven and the heaven of heavens,^b the earth and all it contains (v. 14); yet it was on your fathers that Yahweh set his heart for love of them, and after them of all the nations chose their descendants, you yourselves, up to the present day (v. 15). Footnote ^b  says “In Hebr. The genitive is used to express the superlative. The ‘heaven of heavens’ means the highest heavens.”

2.       Jr 9:12 - Yahweh has said, ‘This is because they have forsaken my Law which I put before them and have not listened to my voice or followed it…

   

Verse 6 says: ‘I will count you a kingdom of priests, a consecrated nation.^f These are the words you are to speak to the sons of Israel.’ Footnote  ^f  says “The Covenant makes Israel God’s sacred possession Jr 2:2, a consecrated people, Dt 7:6; 26:19 that is to say holy (for the same Hebr. word means ‘sacred’, ‘consecrated’, ‘holy’) as its God is holy, Lv 19:2, cf. 11:44f; 20:7,26. It is also a nation of priests, cf. Is 61:6, because what is sacred is by that very fact related to the ritual worship. The promise is to have its complete fulfillment in ‘the Israel of God, the Church; the faithful are called ‘saints’, Ac 9:13+, and in union with Christ the Priest they offer God a sacrifice of praise, 1 P 2:5,9; Rv 1:6; 5:10; 20:6.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Nb 16:3 - These joined forces against Moses and Aaron saying to them, ‘You take too much on yourselves! The whole community and all its members are consecrated, and Yahweh lives among them. Why set yourselves higher than the community of Yahweh?’

2.       Dt 14:2 - For you are a people consecrated to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth.

3.       Ps 33:12 - Happy the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people he has chosen for his heritage.

4.       Ws 10:15 - A holy people and blameless race,^m this she delivered from a nation of oppressors. Footnote ^m   says “‘holy and blameless’ because the chosen people, cf. Ex 19:6+. The author chooses to disregard Israel’s acts of infidelity, unlike Ps 106; Ac 7:2-53.”

5.       Jr 2:3 - Israel was sacred to Yahweh, the first-fruits of his harvest; anyone who ate of this had to pay for it, misfortune came to them-it is Yahweh who speaks.”’

6.       Rv 5:10…and made them a line of kings and priests, to serve our God and to rule the world’^h Footnote   ^h- says Lit. ‘you made them into a kingdom and priests for our God and they will reign on earth’ (or ‘over pagans’); Vulg. ‘you have made us…we shall reign…’

The Second Reading is taken from Rm 5:6-11.

Verses 6 and 7 say: We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men.

It is not easy to die even for a good man-though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die-

Parallel texts for verse 6 are:

1.       Rm 3:26 - Then, for the present age,^m by showing positively that he is just,ⁿ and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus. Footnote ^m – says “This ‘present age’ is in God’s plan of salvation the ‘time appointed’, Ac 1:7+, for Christ’s redemptive work, Rm 5:6; 11:30; 1 Tm 2:6; Tt 1:3, which comes in the appointed time, Ga 4:4+, once and for all, Heb 7:27+, and inaugurates the eschatological era. Cf Mt 4:17p; 16:3p; Lk 4:13; 19:44; 21:8; Jn 7:6,8.”; and Footnote  ⁿ– says “i.e. exercising his (saving, cf 1:17+) justice, as he had promised, by justifying man.”

2.       1 P 3:18 - Why, Christ himself, innocent though he was, had died once for sins,^g died for the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life… Footnote  ^g  says “‘sins’; vulg. ‘our sins’, Om.to ‘God’”.

Verses 8 and 9 say: but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous,^g is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? 

 

Footnote  ^g says “Lit. ‘Being justified in his blood’.”

Parallel texts for verse 8 are:

1.       Rm 8:32 - Since God did not spare his Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give.

2.       Jn 15:13 - A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

3.       1 Jn 4:10,19- This is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away (v. 10). We are to love, then, because he loved us first (v. 19).

Verses 10 and 11 say: When we were reconciled to God by   the death of his Son, Indeed, if, we were still enemies; now that we had been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son. Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust I God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, though whom we have already gained our reconciliation.

Parallel texts for verse 10 are:

1.       1 Th 1:10 - And how you are now waiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution^c which is coming. Footnote ^c says  “Var. ‘called you’.”

2.       2 Co 5:18 - It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation.

Homily: 

The gospel first starts with Mt 9:36-38 about pitying the people because they were like ‘sheep without a shepherd’. It continues with Mt. 6:1-8 about choosing the twelve apostles, sending them out to preach the coming kingdom of heaven and commanding them to give and receive without charging.

The First Reading is from Ex. 19:2-6 about Israel’s stay in the wilderness of Sinai, with Moses’ subsequent going up the mountain to be charged by Yahweh to tell the people that Yahweh will own them as his very own, to be a kingdom of priests and consecrated nation if they will obey and keep his covenant with him.

At the same time, the Second Reading, from Rm 5:6-11, tells about the proof of God’s love for man because Jesus Christ died for sinners to justify and free them from his anger, thus reconciling and saving them by the life of Jesus Christ, his son.

In summary, both the 1^st and 2^nd Reading focuses on man’s fortune and privilege to be an object of God’s love: being regarded as a kingdom of priests and consecrated (1^st Reading), and then justified, reconciled  and saved through Jesus Christ (2^nd Reading).

The twelve apostles were chosen, sent and commanded to preach the coming of the kingdom of heaven, announcing that people are to be consecrated, justified and reconciled as members of the kingdom through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ commanded them to do this work for free, without charging any amount for giving and receiving this news of the kingdom of heaven. This is very well said in 2 Co 5:1 8, as:  “It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation.”

Another matter: Why should we be patient with others? Look at the ten fingers in our hands. They are not all the same. Everyone is different from each other. If all of them were the same, then it would be impossible for us to do things that we have to do, like working with our hands. Similarly, people differ from each other, they are not all the same. If all were the same, then it would not be able to do the different functions we have at home, at work and in society. So let us be patient with others who are not like us. They may be different from us but we need them to do other things which we cannot ourselves do.

Let us help them and love them. Let us not charge others for the services we render to them. Let us complement each other and not quarrel. Let us love others even if they are our enemies because we need them too.

Helping hands: We have two hand: one is used to help ourselves; and the other is to help others. When it becomes impossible to help ourselves or others, then we can simply fold both hands in prayer to ask the help from above (Bitoy, from the sitcom:”Pepito Manoloto”).